Electronic questionnaire

Completing an electronic questionnaire is easy. Once you receive an invitation from Statistics Canada to participate in a survey, follow the instructions below:

1. Access the questionnaire as instructed in the invitation.
2. Begin answering the questions. Use the navigation buttons Next and Previous to move forward or backward through the questionnaire.
3. Press the Save and finish later button (if available) to save your data on our secure server.
4. Press the Submit button at the end of the questionnaire to submit the completed questionnaire to Statistics Canada.

No. One important advantage of Statistics Canada’s electronic collection service is that respondents do not need to install any software or programs to complete an online questionnaire. The service is completely Web-based, so all that is required is a computer and an Internet connection.

You could use a computer at a library or at work (if your employer permits it), or one belonging to a friend or relative. The only restriction is that the computer must have the minimum security features. These are:

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) must be enabled
• Cookies must be enabled

The above settings also apply to computer tablets.

If the computer you are using does not allow you to proceed, please contact our technical support line at: 1-877-949-9492.

The website and questionnaire are available 24 hours a day, except during maintenance periods. The link is valid from the time you receive your invitation from Statistics Canada advising you that your questionnaire is available for completion.

You will receive an invitation that includes: a link to the electronic collection website, a unique 16-character secure access code, and instructions on how to access the questionnaire. Please keep your secure access code confidential at all times.

The 16-character secure access code can be found in the invitation that was sent to you. If you cannot locate your secure access code, or have misplaced your invitation letter, contact us.

Each secure access code is unique and should be used to submit data relating to the intended respondent only. Please keep your secure access code confidential at all times.

To find out the collection end date:

• refer to the invitation from Statistics Canada, or
• visit the Statistics Canada website www.statcan.gc.ca/survey and look up the name of the survey in the list of current surveys.

Press the Save and finish later button (if available) to save your data on our secure server.

The first time you save your questionnaire, you will be required to create a password (if you exit without creating a password, the information you entered will not be saved.) When you return later to complete the questionnaire, you will need to enter the secure access code and the password you created. At the end of the collection period, any questionnaires in the "saved" state will be extracted and processed.

Your partially completed questionnaire is stored on Statistics Canada’s secure servers for completion at a later date. When you return to complete the questionnaire, you will need to enter the secure access code and the password you created. At the end of the collection period, any questionnaires in the "saved" state will be extracted and processed.

If you have forgotten your password, return to the login page, enter your secure access code and press the Start button. From there, answer the security question you selected previously, then follow the instructions for resetting your password.

Depending on the collection procedures for each survey, we may follow-up by telephone.

Statistics Canada may send you reminder emails if you have not submitted your completed electronic questionnaire.

You may also receive an email if you are selected to participate in another survey.

In each case, follow the instructions in the email, and if you have any questions, contact us.

The time required to complete a questionnaire is different for every survey. Once you start to fill out the questionnaire, the progress bar in the top right corner will give you an indication of your completion rate.

The option to print is not available for all surveys. For some surveys, it is only possible to print a blank copy of the questionnaire before you complete it electronically. For other surveys, the questionnaire can be viewed and printed after you have submitted it.

The completed electronic questionnaires are sent in encrypted format directly to Statistics Canada’s headquarters in Ottawa. Encryption, or encoding, ensures that only Statistics Canada employees can access the files. The information from the questionnaires is then transferred to a separate Statistics Canada computer network that is not connected to any outside network. Only authorized Statistics Canada employees have access to information from electronic questionnaires.

Upon submission of your electronic questionnaire, you will receive a confirmation code on your screen, indicating that we have received it. We recommend that you keep a copy of the confirmation page for your records.